Posts Tagged ‘natural foods contaminated with GMO’

Story at-a-glance

An unapproved strain of genetically engineered (GE) wheat has been found growing on a farm in Oregon. The finding now threatens US wheat exports as many countries do not permit the importation of GE wheat

Japan has canceled orders for US wheat in response to the findings. Other major wheat importers are monitoring the situation, and the EU has ordered member states to test imported wheat for contamination

The House Agricultural Committee will soon vote on an amendment that would lend support to a potential nullification of states’ rights to label GMOs. Your urgent action is needed!

Never Say Never: Monsanto’s GMO Wheat Goes Rogue

For years, Monsanto has said “Don’t worry” about their open-air field tests of unapproved genetically engineered (GE) crops. PR flacks and Monsanto-funded scientists all but guaranteed us that the biotech giant’s frankenseeds wouldn’t escape. But they did escape. And now the company’s Roundup-resistant wheat – never approved for planting in the U.S. or anywhere else in the world – has turned up on a Oregon farm. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s predictable response? “Don’t worry.” The (illegal, untested) GE wheat is “safe to eat.”

You gotta ask: If GMO wheat is supposedly safe to eat, what are the so-called “safe” residue levels of Monsanto’s toxic pesticide, Roundup, that the EPA will allow on this wheat, if it were to be approved to market? And why is it banned in every single country in the world?

Hoping to downplay the discovery that its GE wheat is growing in places it shouldn’t, Monsanto initially told reporters that the company had ended field tests of the unapproved crop in 2005. Not so, said Bloomberg, which reported that Monsanto continues to conduct open-air field tests of GM wheat in North Dakota and Hawaii. That’s on top of the hundreds of tests conducted before 2005, in 16 states, including Oregon. And the hundreds of tests still being conducted on other crops, in other states.

The discovery of Roundup-resistant wheat in Oregon is troubling. But what’s a lot more troubling is that it may just be the tip of the iceberg. That’s why we’re calling on consumers to tell the USDA: No more open-air field testing of unapproved GMO crops!

I just had the experience of being “duped” at my local natural foods store. I bought a package of granola for my interns, one that was gluten-free, with what looked like decent ingredients…but I didn’t have my reading glasses with me. Once I got home and literally “read the fine print” I discovered that none of the ingredients were certified organic, and because it contained canola oil, it was contaminated with a GMO.

So “natural” now means absolutely nothing about healthy except as a marketing ploy. Yes, the oats were gluten-free, but don’t gluten sensitive folks deserve organic and GMO free as well? And this is a fairly local brand (Udi’s in Denver), with lots of good vibes and press, lots of feel-good copy on their site, which I went to. All this focus on how the products are made with love, and no guarantee they are GMO free or pesticide free. They may be delicious, but they aren’t nutritious in my book.

Which brings me to the Cornucopia Institute and their research on a very popular brand of “natural” food, Kashi Cereal:

For example, Kashi is owned by Kellogg, which has contributed $612,000 to defeating Proposition 37. Last year, The Cornucopia Institute published a study, Cereal Crimes (http://www.cornucopia.org/2011/10/natural-vs-organic-cereal/), which revealed that the popular, “natural” Kashi GoLean cereal brand, unbeknownst to its customers, contains genetically engineered ingredients.

In what The Cornucopia Institute characterizes as “creating a façade,” nowhere on the Kashi website or packaging is it disclosed that the company is owned by Kellogg, rather than the “small band of passionate people” featured on the Kashi website.

We’re taking a brief hiatus from fermentation to report on the latest political action and scientific studies regarding GMO food, and the fight to at least label the stuff.

For studies on animals that show GMO food is detrimental to their health (and oh by the way, we are animals also!) please go HEREfor an excellent article by Jeffery Smith, author of Seeds of Deception.

For info on what natural foods may be contaminated with GMO, please readHERE

More HERE from Jeffery Smith about the current political fight to control/label GMO’s, and how we really need grassroots action.

The Institute for Responsible Technology has filed a legal petition asking the FDA to demand labeling of GMO foods. If you go HEREyou can sign the petition as well as see a video. Then you can pass this along to your network of friends.

The Global Justice Ecology Project has a petition to try to stop a huge planting of GE trees in the southeast. You can goHEREto read more about this spectacularly bad idea and sign a petition.

Citizen’s For Health, a consumer watchdog organization, has info HEREabout the Right2Know March on Washington to demand the labeling of GMO foods.

And last but never least, you can go to the Organic Consumer’s Association homepage HEREfor lots of current info on everything happening to slow/stop/label GMO foods internationally.

I am reminded of various campaigns I have participated in over the years: our actions really do matter. The more we are told they do not, the more we realize we are making an impact.